Library Set To Reopen Monday
By Doug Carder
Final touches are being put on the first phase of the Osawatomie Public Library’s renovation this week as the staff prepares to reopen the doors Monday.
Entryways have been widened and a censor-activated front door will slide open for the public next week.
Patrons also will notice a quiet reading area, a computer room, wider aisles between bookshelves to allow room for wheelchairs, an elevator, new ADA-compliant stairs, brighter lighting and a new circulation desk among the amenities. A room also has been added near the front entrance as a meeting space and work area for people who run their businesses out of their homes and the library.
“I’m very pleased with the results,” library director Elizabeth Trigg said of the renovations.
Trigg, her family and a small army of volunteers, young and old, have been working nearly around the clock this month to get the library ready for the reopening.
“We have put 19,000 of 20,000 books back on the shelves, so we’re getting close, very close.”
Library board member Pat Butler was placing some of those books back on the shelves earlier this week.
“There’s still a lot of work to do, but I think it’s going to be very nice once everything gets put back in place,” Butler said.
The first phase also enlarged children and youth departments and added an office for Trigg, whose former workspace was housed in cramped quarters that also served as a break room for employees.
The library board has raised $92,098.77 in donations to help pay for the second phase of the project, which will include enlargement of the library, additional programs for adults, youths and families, a John Brown and Kansas history room, and reading and public meeting rooms.
The board’s goal was to raise $100,000, the amount needed for the library’s 25 percent of a matching $400,000 Community Development Block Grant to fund Phase II.
“The city has loaned us the (nearly $8,000) balance to meet the $100,000 goal,” Trigg said, “Our fundraising efforts are continuing so we can repay that loan.”
Patrons interested in helping the library meet its goal can still purchase engraved wood book spines for $125 or a new book with a name plate in memory of a loved one for $25. Persons also can adopt a book from the library’s collection in memory of a loved one for $10. Bring in or mail the donations to the Osawatomie Library Expansion Fund, Attn: Elizabeth Trigg, 527 Brown Ave., Osawatomie, KS 66064. All donations are tax deductible.
“We are eager to reopen and have the public see the changes,” Trigg said. “I think they are going to like it.”
Short URL: http://osawatominews.com/?p=334
Posted by Doug
on Sep 15 2010. Filed under News and Updates.
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